30 April 2006

Snout Spout was a character Filmation had trouble with. He appeared briefly in She-Ra's "Small Problems" episode from season one and reappeared in season two's "Out of the Cocoon", both times under his original name Hose Nose. Both instances make us think Snout Spout is an Etherian, but "Day Of The Flowers" tries to set the record straight by having Adora introduce Snout Spout as a friend of Adam's, adding that they are both visiting from Eternia. This makes so much more sense that Hose Nose fit his Snout Spout toy profile and live on Eternia. Unfortunately it just adds to the continuity confusion surrounding Snout Spout, perhaps one of the most mishandled characters in the series.

29 April 2006

Here is a great panel from issue four of the UK Masters of the Universe comic. In a story titled "The Carpet of Chaos"Orko and Skeletor duel for the future of Eternia! This amusing piece of artwork depicts each of Skeletor's spells being immediately fought by Orko's Trollan magic!

28 April 2006

Here is a lovely illustration of She-Ra transforming Spirit into Swift Wind by Robin Davies, taken from the She-RaLadybird book "Spirit is kidnapped." You'll notice that there is a figure on the back of Swift Wind; this is actually Catra who had kidnapped Spirit. However Catra does not understand what has occurred and believes that both She-Ra and Swift Wind have rescued Spirit in a speedy maneuver!

27 April 2006

The moral segment to the He-Man episode "Teela's Trial" shows Man-At-Arms fixing a robot, while two other robots look on. Oddly these robots are actually the Zactons from "Keeper of the Ancient Ruins" who should be guarding the treasures at the Ancient Ruins in the Sands of Time! As you can see below the director uses the same cel setup with no variation aside from the background.

26 April 2006

In "The Caregiver" episode of She-Ra's season two Madame Razz's anger causes her hat to get stuck; and as Broom helps remove it we see her face! Similar to the Orko scene in He-Man's "Betrayal of Stratos" episode the director decides to include one frame where we can see Madame Razz's full head of hair, and the upper part of her face.

25 April 2006

Did we ever get to see Orko without his hat? "Dawn of Dragoon" presents us with a silhouette of what our favorite Trollan's head is shaped like, but not one episode in the series reveals Orko's face to us. However in the episode "Betrayal of Stratos", whilst trying to escape Whiplash's snake-like creature Orko maneuvers his way along a tree branch and then falls off. During one of the frames where he falls off we can see Orko without his hat! Unfortunately all we get to see is that his head is black and his ears are blue; we know this is not the way Orko looks. It appears that the animator is basing the design on the Orko toy with the removable hat.

24 April 2006

The He-Man books published by Ladybird often featured a story arc not seen in many other canons. The stories would state that no being with a trace of evil within them could hold the Sword of Power without it burning their hand! This was a nice idea, but had it carried across to the cartoon it would have limited the show somewhat, as a few times the Sword of Power was taken by an evil being. As you can see in this illustration by Robin Davies from "The Iron Master", the evil Beast Man has tried and failed to snatch the Sword of Power from He-Man...

23 April 2006

"Treasure of the First Ones" is a refreshing She-Ra episode full of action and a lot of beautiful new backgrounds, painted specifically for the story. Mystic Isle, where the First Ones stored their greatest treasures features prominently in the episode. Once the Evil Horde have left Mystic Isle having been defeated by She-Ra and Sea Hawk the final shot of the episode shows a fantastic statue being admired by the heroes. I think what makes this image even more interesting is the obvious Buddha influences on the statue creating a real mysticism about it. "A magnificent statue" is how the script describes the statue of the "long-lost hero," which I think the artists at Filmation followed to the letter!

22 April 2006

No Sword of Protection. No She-Ra. No winged unicorn. All this forces Adora to climb the mountain Sky dancer in an effort to reach the Crystal Castle. Now during the She-Ra series we only ever got to see a few angles of the castle, but in "The Stone in the Sword" we are treated to this beautiful panning shot from an angle below the castle. Not only does it show the true size comparison between Adora and the castle, but it also shows the protruding ridge that she must overcome to reach her goal. It is a shame that this shot was never used again in the series.

20 April 2006

The Secret Files of Scrollos appeared once again in issue sixty of the UK Masters of the Universe comic and featured a profile on the various vehicles and weapons used by the Eternians. This wonderful panel showcases an oddly colored Wind Raider striking out at a large robot-like creature, with the sound effect "WATOOOM!" for all to enjoy!

19 April 2006

The first episode of She-Ra's season two "One To Count On" features the debut of Catra's cat Clawdeen; an existing toy that had never been seen on the show. Filmation did a good job on bringing the character into the animated world, because the toy would never have made the transition; a giant cat with makeup and a beautiful curly mane. At least the artists created something to fear as Clawdeen looked like a match for Battle Cat. No facial make up and no curly mane, just an aggressive-looking evil cat. Surprisingly this was Clawdeen's only appearance, and I doubt that sales increased overnight.

18 April 2006

In the She-Ra episode "Duel at Devlan" we quite clearly see a questionable statue in the town square. Questionable for Filmation and the He-Man and She-Ra series as it depicts a warrior with a woman thrown over his shoulder and her ass in the air! Quite often Filmation would shy away from this kind of imagery, which may explain why we only see the statue briefly before it is melted down.

17 April 2006

Gepple's amazing invention Gepple's Goo appeared in numerous episodes of The New Adventures of He-Man, but none of the appearances were as amusing as its appearance in the episode "Dreadator." Whilst demonstrating how Gepple's Goo can effortlessly make an invisible adversary visible once again Gepple begins to promote his invention to He-Man through a sales pitch!

15 April 2006

In The New Adventures of He-Man episode "Cold Freeze" we see a great example of the dynamic between Hydron and Flipshot of the Galactic Guardians. Arriving at the Gorn City Mutants Club Flipshot suggests that maybe they shouldn't enter. Hydron, expressing suppressed joy at seeing Flipshot's courage diminish, amusingly questions his best friend's nerve...

13 April 2006

Nearly every issue of the UK Masters of the Universe comic had a competition to win figures and vehicles from the toyline. In issue two of the comic they advertised a competition to win Thunderpunch He-Man, Dragon Blaster Skeletor, Sy-Klone and Spikor action figures. I entered this competition as these figures had literally just appeared on the shelves in our local toy store - Needless to say I didn't win, but it's fun to remember entering the competition...and the awful artwork that advertised it!

12 April 2006

For those that are unfamiliar with The New Adventures of He-Man series, in the sixth episode Skeletor was given a pet by the Mutants, an insult which backfired on them. Skeletor's "pet" Grr was used sparingly throughout the series and only appeared when needed to serve a purpose. In the episode "Sanctuary" Skeletor sends Grr on a mission and praises his pet to Slushhead, whilst also pointing out his limitations.

11 April 2006

While we sometimes wish for more intricate detail when watching an animated show, episode fifty-three of The New Adventures of He-Man titled "Balance of Power" gives us a little too much! When General Nifel contacts Crita on his viewscreen we see that the animators have given her a little more detail that we would ever hope to witness on a cartoon series!

08 April 2006

Often in The New Adventures of He-Man series we would witness Skeletor issuing a command to one of the Mutants, followed by Flogg reminding him who is supposed to be in charge, only to have Flogg issue the same command moments later! The episode "The Test of Time" features an amusing purposeful mispronunciation by Skeletor towards Flogg, prompted by one of these very exchanges.

07 April 2006

So what happens in the Whispering Woods when Madame Razz tries to improve some of the wild flowers by making them bigger? Poor old Broom finds out in the She-RaLadybird book "Shadow Weaver's Magic Mirror" illustrated by Robin Davies. Broom is one of my favorite characters, largely due to Lou Scheimer's voice acting in the cartoon, of which I'll be featuring very soon...

06 April 2006

With the surprising change in creative direction that issue fifty brought to the UK Masters of the Universe comic came some very attention-grabbing angles for some of the more traditional illustrations! Issue sixty-six features a really nice-looking shot of the transformation sequence with very dynamic posing on the part of the most powerful man in the universe, He-Man!

03 April 2006

We haven't had a Faker post in a while, so here's an image of the evil robotic He-Man imposter drawn by Ladybird book artist Robin Davies for the one-off annual. He features in the story "The Curse of Crystal Mountian" where he and He-Man duel to convince the Snow Dwarfs who is the true He-Man. It is nice to see the often forgotten Faker show up in a Ladybird book, but I'm sure he's had better days than this...

02 April 2006

At the very beginning of the episode "Queen's Gambit" we see the Mutants commence an attack on Primus from Moon Nordor, with Flogg confident of victory attempting a villainous laugh. However when he fails miserably Skeletor comically interjects!